"Leh (Tibetan alphabet: གླེ་, Wylie: Gle), was the capital of the Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh, now the Leh District in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Leh, with an area of 45,110 km2, is the second largest district in the country (after Kutch, Gujarat) in terms of area.
The town is still dominated by the now ruined Leh Palace, former mansion of the royal family of Ladakh, built in the same style and about the same time as the Potala Palace. Leh is at an altitude of 3524 metres (11,562 ft), and connects via National Highway 1Dconnects it to Srinagar in the southwest and to Manali in the south via Leh-Manali Highway"
Leh Palace
Street View
Mosque, Tibetan Prayer Flags, Leh Palace
Sikh Boy carrying water
Local house
Local boys
Local guys
"Leh Palace overlooks the Ladakhi Himalayan town of Leh, modelled on the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. The palace was built by King Sengge Namgyal in the 17th century, but was later abandoned when Dogra forces took control of Ladakh in the mid-19th century. The royal family moved to Stok Palace. Leh Palace is nine storeys high; the upper floors accommodated the royal family, the stables and store rooms were in the lower floors. The palace, a ruin, is currently being restored by the Archaeological Survey of India. The palace is open to the public and the roof provides panoramic views of Leh and the surrounding areas. The mountain of Stok Kangri in the Zangskar mountain range is visible across the Indus valley to the south, with the Ladakh mountain range rising behind the palace to the north..[1][2]"
While the Leh Palace looks very impressive from the outside, it is literally empty and dark inside (a bit eerie even during the day time). While it resembles a bit like Potala Palace in Tibet, it is nothing like Potala Palace which is filled with so much treasures, history and heritage.
Sequence Photo
Yoga inspired. Sequence Photos
View from Leh Palace
Houses in Leh City
A monk, a prayer flag, a monastery at top of Leh Fort.
Overlooking the City of Leh.
The best place in Leh to see the whole city
Prayer Flag
Leh City
Taken from Tara Trust website:
"In 2006, Geshe Lobsang Samten and his colleague Geshe Tsultrim Tharchin, two highly respected Buddhist monks in Ladakh, were entrusted by the Dalai Lama with the task of building a school in order to help some of the poorest families to escape the vicious cycle of poverty.
The Jamyang School is a secular boarding school with the aim of offering free education as well as guiding children in ethically and environmentally friendly behavior. The construction work at the totally undeveloped property began in June 2007 with a donation from the Dalai Lama Trust. Within a year, the infrastructure for water and electricity has been laid and a hostel has been completed, which also served as the school building in the first year.
In summer 2009 a separate school building has been inaugurated by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Today the school has seven teachers and a fantastic team of staff, hosting more than 160 children as boarders, from the poorest families of villages near the Pakistan border, giving them free education.
The first batch of 62 children was admitted to the Jamyang School in 2008, the second batch of 50 Children came in March 2010. The third batch came in March 2011. They mainly come from villages near the Pakistan border: Hanu and Baima (Leh District) as well as Darchik and Garkon (Kargil District). For the Jamyang School it is important that at least half their students are girls. All admitted children come from the poorest families of the villages with predominantly difficult family backgrounds: families that are broken due to divorce or death of one or both parents, and children who face child labor in the city or road construction since their parents neither possess land nor have a job to feed them. So far, most of the children do not have access to medical care or eat sufficient and nutritious food."
Jamyang School
Prior to the trip, we had a small fund raising, and within 24 hours, I had raised more than S$5000 (US$4000) for the school. I was very touched and impressed by the generosity of my friends (and friends of friend). There are many compassionate and kind people around, and that really makes me happy.
After touring the school, I was very impressed by how the school was run. I knew that these kids were well-taken care by a group of wonderful and passionate administrators. I also knew that the money raised would be put into good use. I was so impressed that I decided to sponsor one more kid for 1 year.
I told myself that there is no better use of money than to improve the life of a fellow human being who has so much potential. Indeed, Life is like a lottery ticket, where you are born would determine your future. It is really unfair. Some of us who are luckier to be born in good country and family, there is a certain universal responsibility to take care of our less fortunate fellow human beings.
Jamyang School still needs more financial support. I felt sad to know that some kids were not accepted as the school had limited capacity. Please support this school if you have the capacity. =)
Students
Modest Library for 200+ students
Greenhouse to grow vegetables
More kids. =)
These 2 boys were cleaning their own room. (Initially, we thought that they were punished, but they enjoyed keeping their room clean).
Laundry Area
Adorable Kids.
More kids.
Basketball court with a view. Love it!
A shy girl and not-so-shy boy.
Adorable kids following the yoga pose that I showed them.
One of the happiest moments of my trip was spending time with these kids. Their smiles just naturally bring a smile on my face. It is a great experience to see happy kids.
Playing with our cameras.
These kids are very curious about everything. I showed them how to use my SLR camera and they learnt it quickly and went around taking photos. They have so much potential and I am glad that they are studying in Jamyang school which provides a safe and good environment for them to learn and grow up.
If the school was not set up, I am not sure if these kids would ever had the opportunity to have a good education. And there are still so many kids who did not have the opportunity to study.
Taken by the kids
Taken by the kids
A good looking boy with blue eyes.
Prior to the trip, I read about a community in Ladakh with blue eyes and I was very intrigued by it. There were stories that they were the descendants of the Alexandra the Great and his troops, or they were Greeks who came to search for the Jesus Christ's tomb in the Ladakh, or they were the Aryan race who came from the Europe/Middle East.
So it was a pleasant to see this boy with blue eyes in the school. =)
Back to the hustle and bustle of Leh City
Evening Time!!
Shopping and time for good food.
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